Branwell

I have never seen one in the wild here in Australia and don’t know why the local K&M distributor hasn’t tried to do anything with this model here. I expect there would be plenty of interest.

All of the steel parts seem to be a decent gauge that are solid/rigid enough not to bend or twist (at least not much). I agree, it is basically a single brace X stand in terms of vertical support from the ground, but it does seem to be a particularly strong one. I suspect the two circular plates in the middle of the X that contain the height latching thingy might help provide some additional rigidity preventing twisting/bending of those long X members relative to each other. The vertical members telescope into each other without latching (other than the upper tier height adjustment mechanism) so they do not bear weight on the base. However, being square sections, they do passively interlock to some extent which might buffer any wobble, even if its not a fixed connection. In my limited use so far I suspect it has been the carpet on the floor that has been the main source of any wobble (and there has been barely any) rather than play in joints or bending/twisting members. If Hercules are listening I would be interested in a deluxe version that had a significant amount of extra depth (to reduce/eliminate overhang of the top board over the bottom board), and of course full height adjustment of the top tier (i.e. a few extra holes) as well something a bit more robust to replace those grub screws. The extra depth would probably also necessitate a double X support.

Its definitely not designed to do this. There are some internal stops on the telescoping vertical supports that prevent the upper section of the upper tier from being pulled all the way out. Perhaps it's possible to modify this, but to get it dissembled for the mod might risk damaging the plastic collars where the square tubes slide into each other which could really stuff things up. The total vertical support section could theoretically be totally removed to create an ordinary X stand, but this requires removing grub screws at the back end of each of the horizontal round tubes of the X part and fully pulling out the vertical supports which are attached by sl. smaller diameter inner round inserts that slide inside the horizontal round tubes It would be super fiddly. - as well as managing small screws, the inner round inserts must be pulled out near perfectly parallel to the X stand tubes. I have partially done this myself, but only to understand how the stand works. I would only ever recommend considering it if you wanted to make the change permanent or in an "emergency" where a "quick change" is not required.

Heres how it sits with a single keyboard on the lower tier - after permanently shortening the upper tiers and with an extra set of holes drilled to lower the upper tier. The Kurz PC3 on the bottom overhangs the lower tier arms a bit (the lower arms finish about where the black keys start). The PC 3 is quite heavy, particularly towards the rear, so no problem with instability due to the overhang.

I didn't really plan on using the Hercules stand with a double manual on the lower tier, but I took it for a spin at a rehersal last week just for fun. The extra depth of the double manual Hammond meant that the upper tier synth had to sit a bit higher so that I could still use the drawbars easily, even with the organ brought forward overhanging the bottom tier by a few inches. I had shortened the lengths of the upper tier arms with a hacksaw which helped.

I also have a Gator Frameworks platform/table stand. Provided you give the foot of each leg a little kick outwards so that the legs are fully unfolded as far as they go once the stand is in position, I find it very stable. If you just unfold the stand and plonk it down it can be a bit wobbly. I'm sure you have probably found that out already, but thought I'd mention it, it makes a huge difference. I also have Roland and On-Stage Z stands (single and two-tier respectively). I used to use the Roland for gigs with a Nord C1, then a Hammond SK2 (no foot pedals, just expression, vent, power etc. mounted on a board), but hated having to assemble/dis-assemble the stand or deal with the large area required and flippy floppy hinged feet/arms if transported without disassembly. The Gator platform stand solved all of those problems, it sets up/folds down very quickly , and is easy to carry around in a keyboard soft-case as one piece with the width and height adjustments preset and ready to go.

Think I'll try shortening the upper arms as well. (I note Mathofinsects suggested this as a possibility also)

Thanks AnotherScott. The KM18000+18881 definitely looks competitive for the "Travels "flat" with minimal footprint" criteria. Unfortunately for my specific needs the K&M 18880 looks to have a set width of 700 mm which is too wide for the Take 5. I don't think the K&M18880 is available here in Australia. It was not on the country distibutor's product list when I checked, and I have never seen one available for sale or in the wild down under. I did start this project by making a table top from ply with aluminium for strengthening, to be able to use on the wide spaced upper tier of my Monolith stand. I even had a spare 61-key soft case for carrying the table top and upper tiers (which attach/detach really easily). However, for the cost, reduced size and 1 piece convenience, the Hercules option was too attractive to pass up. A table top for narrow keyboards would obviously work on the K&M, albeit with a second piece to carry, but with the advantage of a much smaller folded footprint and very much lighter weight compared to the Monolith.

So I bought a KS210B. For context I already have X stands (single and double braced), tables stands, Z stands, V stands, a bespoke home-made job for a specific rig, and the unique Quik Lok Monolith, so this ain't my first Rodeo with stands. What I didn't have was a two-tier option that was wobble free, super quick and easy to set up/tear down, travels "flat" with minimal footprint, and provided a second tier that was narrow enough to hold a Sequential Take 5 (44 keys), at least when playing standing. The Hercules KS210B, as AudioPilz (YouTube channel) would say, "at first glance was ticking all the boxes". The price compared to alternatives made this a somewhat low risk decision for purchasing on-line and unseen in the real world, so how did it stack up (...boom-tish)? Wobble free? - This is a super rigid stand. The upper tier has a little bit of free play unloaded, but with the weight of a board on top (even a light-weight controller), the vertical rectangular tubing construction locks in on itself and there is very very little side to side or back to front movement. Although those vertical tubes holding the 2nd tier are not bearing weight on the base, they are still probably helping a bit with the overall rigidity. The Hercules adjustable rubber foot thing should make dealing with uneven floors a bit easier. One of the best 2-tier experiences I have had in terms of lack of wobble. Super quick and easy to set up/tear down? - Absolutely. This is a huge positive for this stand. Check out the video posted above by EscapeRocks. Travels "flat" with minimal footprint? – Pretty much the same as any X-stand, just a little bit longer due to the integrated 2nd tier. I don’t think there is anything better with a 2nd tier attached? Narrow upper tier width. – The upper tier width is dependant on the base height. At the second highest base height it’s perfect for the 44 key Take 5. This setting also happens to put the lower keyboard at about the same height as the upper manual of a Hammond C3 which is my go-to standard for playing standing up. The second highest base setting on the manufacturer spec has a width of 550 mm (21.7”) which seems to be to the outer edge of the lower tier rubber end caps. It measures about 540 mm on the upper tier which has slightly smaller diameter tubing. The centre-to-centre distance of the upper and lower tier tubes is about 520 mm. It becomes too wide for the narrow Take 5 at lower settings, but I’m not planning on using those. As long as you don’t like to sit, dance or balance sea lions on the extreme ends of your lower board, the stand is wide enough at this setting to be stable for common gig duties (comparable to any typical X-stand). For my needs this second highest base setting is the Goldilocks zone for playing while standing. What else? Yes, I will probably drill a couple of extra holes to allow the upper tier to get lower. The Hercules spec gives a lowest upper tier height of 200 mm (7.9”). This seems to be at the underside of the endcap at the player end (add another 25.6 mm for pipe diameter +about 6 mm for the end cap to get an idea of the height where the keyboard actually rests). The slight upper tier angle is fixed, but it looks just right for me. The Hercules load capacity spec is 80 kg (176.4 lb) for the lower tier and 40 kg (88 lb) for the upper tier. I am mainly planning on using a relatively light weight controller on the lower tier (Roland A-800Pro), but I loaded on my 16.94 kg (37.35 lb) Kurzweil PC 3 with the 7.7 kg (17 lb) Take 5 on top and everything felt very solid. Don’t throw this stand around. The plastic knobs for the spring-loaded pin that sets the upper tier height seem to be of reasonable quality, but you obviously don’t want to break them, bend the pin or cause the spring to fail. There are also a series of plastic sleeves that fit over the square tubing ends where one part is sliding over another. Breaking these might introduce some upper tier wobble, make the folding less smooth and cause scratching of the paint. For comparison there are only 2 knobs, so that’s no worse than most 2 tier stands, and most z stands also use plastic sleeves where rectangular tubes slide over each other for height adjustment. I’ll be happy enough carting this around in my car, but I wouldn’t want it crashing around unprotected/unsecured in the back of a truck. The grub screws! The vertical square tubing supports are connected to the main x-stand section by means of attached cylindrical tubing that fits inside the cylindrical sections that form the base and lower keyboard tier. To stop the inner cylindrical tubing pulling out there is a small channel machined into the outer circumference of the inner tube about 30 mm from the end of the outer tube. There is a small nut welded on the outer tube, and a grub screw passes through the nut and outer tube into the machined channel on the inner tube, preventing the inner tube from coming out, while still allowing rotation of the tubes during folding of the stand. These 4 grub screws will probably eventually work their way out, which would allow the vertical supports to be pulled out from the main x-stand. There is enough inner tubing that, provided it is pushed in, the upper tier would not suffer catastrophic failure. Even on a bouncy stage with all grub screws missing I suspect it would be difficult for the inner tubes to work their way out enough to be a problem, but it’s not a risk to take. This means that regular inspection and re-tightening of the grub screws when necessary is a must. Maybe some Loctite would be a good idea (I was surprised that all 4 screws on my stand seemed to be in the right position but loose). If a grub screw goes missing, then replacement with a bolt of matching thread size should be easy enough, but still an inconvenience. Depth! Like many multi-tier stands, it is designed for significant overhang of the bottom board by the upper board. Why can’t these things be made with at least a few inches of extra depth to reduce overhang? The mythical ideal stand, would have fully adjustable depth (top and/or bottom tier) and fully adjustable tier height to allow the upper board to sit just overhanging the back edge the lower board before the controls start Hercules Ezy-Lok. – When new, the clicky position setting thing feels reassuringly secure. Much more so than I was expecting. Again I wouldn’t want to go smashing it around and will keep an eye on it. I’ll leave further comments on this feature of their range to someone else. There is no ideal stand, but despite a few frustrating design aspects I am happy so far with this one for my intended use, especially for the price and given that I have other stands for other duties. Hopefully it proves out OK. Your mileage may vary.

Roland VK1 Organ. Got me through all of the 80's and half of the 90's as my foundation live board.

Anyone tried this stand? Seems to be relatively inexpensive, has quick setup, travels flat & cosmetically it almost doesn't look like an X Stand. The manufacturer explains the limited height width options well enough on their website, so if that's OK is there anything not to like? Hercules Stands - KS210B http://herculesstands.com/international/products/keyboard/x-stands/ks210b/